There’s no way to go around the fact that pizza is one of the most popular if not the most popular food in the entire world. The combination of being an extremely tasty food when prepared correctly (and even when not) and offering incredible variety has put pizza on the map. With every country putting its own spin on the dish; it’s no wonder that pizza is a worldwide celebrated phenomenon. Sure, eaten under the wrong circumstances, it can be considered junkfood; however it’s a dish that you can prepare with the right ingredients in order to create a very healthy and delicious meal. While there is a strong chance you might be a pizza fan yourself, you probably didn’t know some of these amazing facts about everyone’s favorite food. If you’re interested in broadening your pizza culture, sit back and enjoy this really interesting collection of pizza facts.

Pizza pairs best with beer

No a lot of people think about pairing their pizza slices with a cold glass of beer. However the combination is not just working, it’s amazing. Depending on what kind of pizza you are eating, you can get the appropriate beer so that the flavors and acidic intensity found in both products match. One of the reasons why beer and pizza work so well together is the fact that pizza often times contains cheese, in large quantities, which is one of the best foods to pair with beer. Most people would thing that’s a typo for wine, but it’s really not. If you want to check out more beer facts, go check out lama dog. In the meantime, we’ll continue our pizza adventure.

Hawaiian pizza is a lie

You know Hawaiian pizza, that exotic take on the popular dish which people either hate or love? Turns out, it’s not actually invented in Hawaii, and the only association with Hawaii is that both have pineapples. In truth, Hawaiian pizza was invented in Canada. Those that have had mixed feelings about this type of pizza beforehand might be even more confused about it now.

It’s an insanely productive market

There are many markets out there that do great in terms of sales, but few manage to beat the pizza market. It might have once been hard to believe it, but nowadays, with everyone professing their love for pizza, it’s quite easy to trust in the fact that pizza has become a $30 billion industry. That’s just counting the numbers in the United States alone. Just imagine the kind of global economic presence the pizza industry has worldwide. Part of why pizza is such an amazingly profitable product is because it’s very easy to make and to find wherever you are. There are also a large number of ways in which you can get it. You can go to a restaurant and wait for a pizza to be made for you on the spot, or you can order takeout and have one delivered to your house. Alternatively, if you’re just feeling like having a lazy afternoon, you can just get a frozen pizza from the supermarket. It doesn’t taste anything like an original Italian pie, but it’s still a pizza. With all these ways in which the pizza industry is offering its services, there’s nothing doubtful about the fact that the world’s favorite lunch, dinner, snack and even breakfast is also a multi-billion dollar treasure mine.

It has its own month in the United States

You can’t argue with the fact that the US loves its pizzas. So much so in fact that they’ve officially dubbed October as being their national pizza day. Hey, when you love something, you shouldn’t let anyone tell you that it doesn’t actually belong to you. That must be the motivation behind this gesture which has taken place all the way back in the year 1987, but the fact remains that in October you can safely tell someone “Happy National Pizza Day!”.

Veggie toppings are more popular with the ladies

There is a large variety of toppings that can find their way onto a pizza. There are the classic ones like pepperoni or mozzarella and some newer ones that are trying desperately to be a thing, like pineapple pizza. There are also vegetarian pizzas out there which come with a mainly vegetarian topping palate. As you’ve probably guessed already, these toppings are more popular in the ranks of women than men. Even if they stray from ordering a salad, they still keep close to it most of the times by going the vegetarian route. While there’s no rule about men ordering a veggie pizza, studies show that women are twice as likely to get one such pizza.

It’s all about the pepperoni

Love it or leave it, pepperoni is one of the most popular toppings in the United States. In fact, studies show that more than 35% of all pizzas use pepperoni in their recipe. That’s quite a lot of meat, so no wonder that not everyone has time to order a veggie pizza. While it’s an interesting fact, it’s not exactly mind blowing since most people like to stick to the basics and order a pepperoni pizza.

Pizzerias have come a long way

Today, you can find a pizzeria on every other corner, as studies show that they amount for about 17% of the total restaurant count in the United States alone. This wasn’t always the case however as there was a time when there was only one pizzeria open. Yes, we are talking about the very first pizzeria, which was called Antica Pizzeria. The pizzeria originator was opened during the year 1738. Where? Why, in Italy, of course, more specifically in Naples.

For deep fried pizzas, take a trip to Scotland

You can imagine that every country that produces and sells pizza might put its own little spin on the traditional dish. However, when it comes to Scotland, they dabble in deep frying pizza. This might sound a little odd and definitely not the healthiest thing ever, but at least you can’t complain that you’re having the same old pizza every time.

Pizza is best paired with beer…and football!

While beer might be the best beverage to combine with your pizza slice, football is definitely the best sport. Since you can’t just eat a pizza in silence in a dark room and enjoy it as it should be enjoyed, you need to also pair it with a form of entertainment. It would seem that during the Super Bowl, more pizza is eaten than any other period within the year. That’s quite nuts when you think about it, but then again, is it? One of the most popular sporting events in the world and one of the most enjoyed foods in the world together?

Americans should worship Gennaro Lombardi

If that name isn’t familiar to you, you should know that he’s’ the guy who opened the first pizzeria in the United States. The first ever pizza joint was opened long before in Italy, as mentioned before, but Gennaro Lombardi was the one that brought the wonders of a pizzeria to the American shore and opened the first US pizzeria in the city of New York.

The record for the biggest pizza pie is “sliced” in two

Usually in cases of records like “the biggest” something, you only have one winner, but when it comes to pizza there are actually two world records for biggest pizza. This is because each record attests for a type of pizza based on how it’s sliced. If you’re talking about circular pizza, the record belongs to the South African Norwood Hypermarket. Here, a gigantic pizza pie measuring 122 feet made it to the Guinness World Records. Over in the other part of the world, a restaurant owner by the name of Bill Bahr also made history with the biggest rectangular pizza in the world. This pie was also gigantic, measuring close to 130 feet.

So that’s where that “hip luggage” is from

Eating a slice of pizza or two with your friends is no big deal. However if you take it to the extreme, you might not like the results, specifically the ones that turn you from slim to not so slim. According to statistics, it would seem that every single person in the US consumes an average of 23 pounds of pizza. Now, you might be wondering if that’s too much pizza for one lifetime but the truth of the matter is that this is the amount consumed in a single year. We’ve previously touched on how pizza was worldwide spread and how massive the industry is. It probably isn’t that hard to sell it and it surely doesn’t look like funding customers is a problem for now or the foreseeable future.

Other interesting facts about pizza

Pizza has had quite the adventure throughout the years since it was firs invented in good ol’ Naples. However, that doesn’t stop the beloved dish from making the headlines even nowadays, as there are many interesting contemporary stories about pizza. Here are some of the best ones, just for you:

Pizza was in space

Back in 2001, a delivery was made to the International Space Station by Pizza Hut. The popular brand worked with the Russian astronauts in order to make a delivery to the space station. In the aftermath of this, they even managed to get a commercial out. Needless to say, this did a great job in popularizing the brand even more, worldwide. Based on what those poor astronauts are usually eating, that pizza must have truly been a delight. The delivery probably failed the “30 minutes or less” policy. Speaking of that policy, did you know that it was removed, and why?

Why did Domino’s remove their “30 minutes or less” policy?

While this might seem like a good idea, it turned out to be quite south of the prediction margin. The guarantee apparently made Domino’s drivers race to the customers and thus create car accidents and whatnot. In fact, there was even a case of fatality so the company decided it was time to retire the delivery guarantee. People mostly agreed that while getting your pizza warm was very important for the food quality, it isn’t something to die for, literally.

Back to space, NASA is printing pizzas

If that phrase made you a little confused, it’s understandable because it doesn’t make a lot of sense on its own. However, NASA is indeed working on building 3D printers which would allow astronauts to print their own pizzas. Finally, people are moving past making robotic parts and whatnot and are starting to 3D print the important stuff. Could you imagine just pressing a button and making your own pizza with a printer?

If you like pizza, go to more Lady Gaga shows

There was that instance where Lady Gaga bought her fans pizza that amounted to about $1000. The popular singer wanted to show her appreciation for the fans waiting in line for her, so she had pizza bought for all of them. Needless to say, $1000 isn’t that much for someone of her wealth, and when converted into pizza, it’s worth a lot more anyways. The lesson here is that you love an artist hard enough and remain a loyal fan, you might, one day; get your own slice of pizza.

Someone’s probably really sick of pizza right now

You’ve probably heard about Bitcoin. To keep it simple in case you haven’t it’s a type of “internet money” which can be used to buy real things. The first ever transaction made using this online currency was for a pizza, and it cost 10.000 BTC. The one who bought that pizza must have been pretty happy, since he managed to get himself a nice meal without having to pay real money. He probably hates pizza now, because the amount he spent on that first transaction is now worth $1.219.000. Yep, that’s a million dollar story, right there(literally).

These have been the most interesting pizza facts we could come up with for you guys. Given the lengthy and colorful history of this incredibly popular dish, there are no doubt even more out there, ready to be explored by pizza enthusiasts.

Brought to you by our friends at lamadog.com.

Comments on The Side of Pizza You Never Knew – Top Most Interesting Facts